家人是幸福的关键

译者 小星星有弹力

So you're between the ages of 13 and 24. What makes you happy?

你的年龄段是13岁到24岁。什么让你感到幸福呢？

Spending time with family was the top answer to that open-ended question, according to an extensive survey -- more than 100 questions asked of 1,280 people ages 13-24 -- conducted by The Associated Press on the nature of happiness among America's young people.

据广泛调查，对于这一开放性问题，“与家人相处让我感到幸福”这一回答高居榜首。在“美国年轻人眼里幸福的本质”的相关报道中，此调查向1,280个13岁到24岁的年轻人们提出了至少100个问题，足以证明其充分性。

Next was spending time with friends, followed by time with a significant other. And good news for parents: Nearly three-quarters of young people say their relationship with their parents makes them happy.

 而“与朋友们在一起”则居第二。在此告诉父母们一个好消息：近四分之三的年轻人认为，他们与其父母的良好关系使他们幸福。

"They're my foundation," says Kristiana St. John, 17, a high-school student from Queens in New York. "My mom tells me that even if I do something stupid, she's still going to love me no matter what. Just knowing that makes me feel very happy and blessed."

“他们是我的大本营。我妈妈告诉我，即便是我做了蠢事，她依然会爱我。仅仅是意识到这一点，我就很开心、很幸福了。”17岁的克里斯迪娜·圣·约翰说，他是一名纽约市皇后区的高中生。

Other results are more disconcerting. While most young people are happy overall with the way their lives are going, there are racial differences: the poll shows whites to be happier than blacks and Hispanics. A lot of young people feel stress, particularly those from the middle class, and females more than males.

该调查的其它结果却令人堪忧。虽然多数年轻人以自己的方式快乐地生活着，但还是存在一些种族差异。调查显示，白人比黑人和西班牙裔更幸福。许多年轻人觉得有压力，尤其是来自中产阶级的年轻人。另外女性所承受的压力比男多。

You might think money would be clearly tied to a general sense of happiness. But almost no one said "money" when asked what makes them happy, though people with the highest family incomes are generally happier with life. However, having highly educated parents is a stronger predictor of happiness than income.

你可能觉得，金钱就一定能带来所谓的幸福感。尽管家庭收入最高的人普遍来说幸福感更强，但在被问及“什么能带来快乐”时，几乎没人回答说“金钱”。而父母高学历的年轻人则觉得幸福比收入更重要。

And sex? Yes, we were getting to that. Being sexually active actually leads to less happiness among 13-17 year olds, according to the survey. If you're 18 to 24, sex might lead to more happiness in the moment, but not in general.

那么性会带来幸福快乐吗？是的，我们都会经历性。据调查，活跃的性行为会减少13岁至17岁年轻人的幸福感。如果你处于18岁至24岁之间，那么性行为或许会给带给你更多幸福感。但并非每个人都如此。

Overwhelmingly, young people think marriage would make them happy and want to be married some day. Most also want to have kids.

所有的年轻人们都觉得婚姻使人幸福并且都想在以后结婚。很多人也想要生小孩。

Finally, when asked to name their heroes, nearly half of respondents mentioned one or both of their parents. The winner, by a nose

最后，当调查对象被要求说出自己心目中的“英雄”时，近一半的人都提到了父母。最终母亲以微弱优势获胜。